There are a multitude of studies that have been performed in states all over our country citing economic benefits of pre-kindergarten programs in terms of future achievement, social engagement, and productivity. Kevin Drum wrote in his recent article, “The Biggest Value of Pre-K Can’t Be Found in Test Scores”, that “pre-K does seem to increase high school completion rates; reduce rates of substance abuse; reduce felony rates; increase lifetime income; and improve non-IQ cognitive traits like the ability to delay gratification, the ability to hold a job, and the ability to control your temper.”

Pre-K has incomparable benefits for the children, their families and our community. The faith community, working together in partnerships for a common mission, could expand educational ministries to include pre-K children from under-advantaged families. The challenges to meet in making that happen are connecting committed and called faith communities to one another in a manner that could produce exceptionally structured, funded, staffed, equipped and regulatory compliant educational ministries. It’s a complex calling, but then, we are the people who are supposed to live in the understanding that “with God, nothing is impossible”.